State Non-game Wildlife Program Depends On Contributions

Virginians love watching wildlife, but few are willing to dig into their pocketbooks to support it.

Only a relative handful donate part of their tax refund to support the state's birds, bats and butterflies, according to a Virginia Cooperative Extension wildlife specialist.

A survey done out of Virginia Tech showed that more than 95 percent of adult Virginians say they enjoy watching wildlife, says Pete Bromley, Extension wildlife specialist at the university.

"But only the minority of people are contributing to studying and preserving that wildlife," he says.

To be exact, just 2.5 percent of those receiving state tax refunds last year designated some of their refund as a contribution to Virginia's non-game wildlife program, says state wildlife education specialist Suzie Gilley.

Non-game wildlife includes any wildlife not hunted or fished, such as butterflies, songbirds and all endangered species.

Virginians who expect to receive tax refunds from the state can designate part of that refund for non-game wildlife by writing in a donation on their state icome tax forms.

Of almost 2 million people receiving refunds for tax year 1988, fewer than 50,000 gave a donation, she says. Total contributions received added up to $421,921.

That amount is down from tax year 1987, when it was $502,802, which, in turn, is down from 1986 contributions totalling $649,982.

Gilley gives two reasons for the downward trend: Tax reforms are giving fewer people refunds, and people are dividing their money among other programs recently added to state tax returns.

Until last year, the non-game wildlife program was the only one allowed by the General Assembly to solicit donations on tax returns, she says.

But now those receiving refunds can donate money to the Virginia Democratic or Republican parties, to the U.S. Olympic Committee, to the open space and recreation preservation program or to the housing program.

Of those programs, non-game wildlife still receives the most money.

Housing received second most with $170,107, but all the other programs receive additional state funding.

Tax refund contributions are essentially the only source of funding for nongame wildlife, Gilley says.

"Non-game wildlife constrictions are matched by the federal government, but not always," she says.

Because of the declining amount of money in the non-game fund, investigations of some endangered species have had to be dropped, Bromley says.

Currently listed as endangered in Virginia are animals such as the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, red-cocaded woodpecker, Delmarva fox squirrel, Virginia big-eared bat and the Dismal Swamp shrew. Donations also cover special investigations, such as last summer's research into a mysterious disease among a group of dolpins off the Virginia coast.

"These investigations cover all kinds of things most people are interested in," says Bromley.

Finally, the non-game wildlife program supports wildlife education in Virginia schools as well as the Virginia breeding bird atlas, which includes 213 maps of where different birds live and raise their young throughout the state.

Gilley says he hoped this year's contributions would hold steady instead of declining for another year, but she hesitates to make any predictions.

Bromley says he hopes the trend would reverse, with more people relizing this is their one easy chance to give a little bit back to wildlife.

"If you enjoy watching birds and other wildlife and you want to help maintain our knowledge base about what our wildlife is, then you really ought to think seriously about donating to the non-game wildlife program," he says, noting the special importance of having endangered species.

"Growth and development have already cut a number of animals out of our lives here in the Old Dominion. Maybe we can protect ourselves from losing even more of our wildlife heritage."